


The Networker

by TheSovereigntyofReality



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Moderated, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Not Natasha Friendly, Not Steve Friendly, Not Wanda Friendly, Team Tony, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-07-14 06:44:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16035110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSovereigntyofReality/pseuds/TheSovereigntyofReality
Summary: While Tony's considering pulling in Spider-Man, he spots someone in the background and changes his plan.He meets a woman who has been networking with New York's enhanced, and gets him a (mostly) unbiased team to pull in the Rogues.





	1. The Woman in the Background

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer: If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine.**

Tony hadn’t been overly happy at the prospect of getting a kid involved. But as Rogers made this worse and worse, it looked like he’d have to. Then, he noticed something. In every film of the kid, so far, there was always someone in the background. It wasn’t something anyone else would notice, in each video it was shown pretty quickly – and he’d had to use his own tech to identify the person – but a woman stood there, arms folded and watching.

She was around enough for Tony to suspect she was some kind of mentor or guardian to the kid.

So, instead of visiting the underage Peter Parker, Tony went to see Lennie Alice.

Lennie Alice lived in the ancestral mansion of her late husband. Beyond that, even FRIDAY had trouble finding the rest of it. It seemed, through some means, her ageing had been decelerated. She also seemed to associate with a lot of masked heroes and vigilantes. Tony didn’t know why that made hope bloom in his chest.

When he drove up to the gate, he expected to have to use the intercom. Instead, the gate opened up immediately. Unsure, but curious, Tony drove in. As he pulled up in front of the building, he saw Lennie Alice waiting for him. She had long medium brown hair and looked to be somewhere in her 30s. She was dressed casually and didn’t seem at all surprised to see Tony Stark paying her a visit.

‘How did you know I was coming?’ Tony asked as he got out of his car.

‘I can see the future,’ Lennie said. ‘I know what’s going to happen and I know what you’re here for. But this is not the place for such a conversation.’ She opened her front door and gestured for him to follow him in. ‘I’ve gotta say, I do appreciate you coming here rather than your first option. Spidey’s sense of responsibility is overblown as it is.’

‘Really?’ Tony asked. ‘Why?’

Lennie paused. ‘He got his powers when he was bitten by a radioactive spider on a class field trip. Shortly after, he deliberately ignored a cry for help and let an armed robbed run past him.’

‘Well, that wasn’t his job,’ Tony said. ‘Especially if the robber was armed.’

‘Which is what I keep saying,’ Lennie remarked. ‘Anyway, in one of those events where it looks like the universe is out to get you, that same robber ended up shooting his uncle dead.’ She shrugged. ‘Kid’s an orphan. His aunt and uncle are practically his parents.’ She went on. ‘He got the idea from it that if he doesn’t intervene in crimes and the criminals get away, things like that would happen again.’

Tony pressed his lips together. What had happened that night was a coincidence. A tragic coincidence, but a coincidence nonetheless. And an unlikely one at that. But a kid wouldn’t see it that way. If that was how easily the Spider-kid took on responsibility, then Lennie was right. Keeping him away from this shit-show was the best option.

‘How do you see the future?’ Tony asked, following her into what seemed to be a dining room.

‘An enhancement that utilises the science of cause and effect. When I see visions, I see every alternative. I then have to use balance of probability to work out which is the correct scenario.’

‘So it is fallible?’

‘Yes, but I’ve been using it for over half a century now. I’m not saying I don’t make mistakes. They’re just few and far between because I keep most of my visions to myself.’

It hit Tony. ‘So, your powers are like that movie, Minority Report, but you’re the computer?’

‘Yeah,’ Lennie said. ‘Actually, that’s probably the most accurate depiction I’ve ever seen of what happens when a seer jumps the gun.’

Which made her powers very dangerous, if you thought about it. ‘How much training have you had?’

‘I trained them for ten years before I let myself onto the field. The last thing anyone needs is an undertrained enhanced running amok.’ She walked over and handed him a cup of coffee. ‘Which brings us to the point of your visit.’

‘Yeah,’ Tony said. ‘I’m hoping to bring them in peacefully.’

‘They won’t come peacefully,’ Lennie immediately said. ‘Because this isn’t about the Accords – that’s just Rogers’ excuse. It’s about getting Barnes out of trouble for his years of assassinations as the Winter Soldier.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘I hate to tell you but Rogers is spoiling for a fight. He’s going to force a physical conflict because that’s the only way he knows how to deal with his problems. I mean, come on. When was the last time you saw him seriously try to talk out a problem?’

Tony paused and considered that. It was true. Rogers was known for his speeches, but those all seemed generally to be intended to intimidate whoever he was fighting or to get the Avengers into the fight. But he never tried to reason with anyone. In fact, he shut down all reasoning as fast as he could. Just look how he handled the Accords discussion – he ignored it.

Lennie nodded. ‘He’s bringing in Barton, Maximoff, and Scott Lang.’ She then lifted a finger, held it a moment and then pointed.

Tony’s phone rang. He hesitated before answering it. And he was promptly told that Barton and Maximoff had just broken out of the Compound, throwing Vision down 19 floors of solid concrete. Not only was Tony horrified, but he now believed entirely in Lennie foresight powers. He checked on Vision and then hung up.

‘Who’s Scott Lang?’ Tony asked.

‘Some San Francisco ex-con who fancies himself a modern Robin Hood,’ Lennie said. ‘He’s out on parole and Hank Pym decided to use him to stop this terrorist who was going after the Pym Particles. You know, rather than being an adult and calling the Feds.’

‘What are Pym Particles?’

‘Some cute little biology tech that lets you shrink to the size of an ant or grow really massive. Pym’s really paranoid about people stealing them and zones in on Starks in particular because he didn’t like your old man.’

Tony cocked an eyebrow. ‘Dad’s been dead 25 years.’

‘So he transferred his suspicion to you. I think the old coot may need a nurse.’ She tapped her forehead. ‘Well, in all fairness, just about everyone was fooled by HYDRA.’

‘Come again.’

Lennie smiled and leaned back. ‘It happened in S.H.I.E.L.D. Pym and his wife, Janet, were members of the original team of Avengers.’

‘So there was a team before this one?’ Tony huffed. No wonder it was so easy to scoop up the name when SHILDRA fell.

‘Yup. Anyway, they used Pym Particles to be Ant-Man and the Wasp. Howard expressed an interest in the particles. Pym said no. Next thing you know, Pym’s blustering in accusing Howard of stealing them. Howard huffs and rolls his eyes and the immediate assumption is that he’s guilty. This was in 1989.’

Tony suddenly found himself flashing back. He’d been walking past his father’s study and he’d heard his father ranting inside about how everything was apparently his fault. At the time, Tony hadn’t paid it any mind. Now, though, Tony wondered if it was possible that this incident was what Howard was upset about.

Lennie drew him back to the present. ‘The other two who had knowledge of the ordeal, aside from Carter, was Alexander Pierce and Mitchell Carson.’

Tony inclined his head. ‘Didn’t they turn out to be HYDRA?’

‘Yeah.’ Lennie drawled. She slapped her hands on her legs a few times. ‘So! That’s who Scott Lang is. Also, Romanoff thinks bringing in T’Challa will be a great idea – you know that guy who happens to be on a personal vendetta to kill Barnes? Yeah, him. But the minute it looks like he might actually kill him, Romanoff will zap him.’

‘I thought you kept most of your predictions to yourself?’

‘I do, unless I’m certain. If someone’s already got a plan in their head, I see them constantly acting on this plan.’

‘So she’s already got the plan in her head?’

‘Yup.’

Tony sighed. ‘She’s gonna turn the moment this becomes convenient, isn’t she?’

‘In her defence, she has been most thoroughly dehumanised since early childhood,’ Lennie said. ‘Hell, you function better than her even with all your PTSD. All she knows how to do is seduce, manipulate, and kill.’

Tony looked over at her. ‘She made a personality profile on me, once.’

‘Oh, I know. Like I said, she was dehumanised. I got a few friends, we hacked S.H.I.E.L.D. and got our hands on it. Spent the next 20 minutes laughing at it. But Black Widows are notorious for being cocky and narcissistic.’

Tony cocked an eyebrow.

Lennie shrugged. ‘You’ll find you’ve becomes like your father in that regard, Tony. Or hadn’t you noticed that every time something goes wrong, it’s magically your fault?’

Tony was so stunned, as he found himself flashing back and finding that – yes, every time something did go wrong in the Avengers somehow it was Tony’s problem too. ‘They did that to dad too?’

‘All the damn time.’ Lennie frowned. ‘No wonder he was a bitter old man. I mean, the Howard Stark I knew of in my youth was quite a different creature. You Starks are just easy to blame. You’re smart, you’re rich, you’re powerful, and you have a guilt complex that puts the Taj Mahal to shame.’

Tony didn’t like to admit it, but it was something his friends – his real ones: Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy – were constantly exasperated by. He felt guilty too easily and he felt responsible for everything. Maybe it was time he started listening rather than just brushing the whole thing off. Maybe he ought to stop taking responsibility for the Avengers.  
‘Well, I don’t feel guilty for Maximoff’s personal tragedy.’

‘And so you shouldn’t. That woman shouldn’t have powers. She should be in a mental institution. I’m half tempted to set Jones on her.’


	2. Easily Replaceable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lennie can get Tony an entire team of enhanced to bring in the Rogue Avengers.

‘Jones?’ Tony asked.

‘Jessica Jones,’ Lennie said. ‘She was mind-controlled for years and years, forced to commit crimes – mainly murder – by a nutcase called Kilgrave. Kilgrave, I’ve gotta say, was way scarier than Maximoff. He was not only completely calm, but he didn’t even bother trying to play the victim like she does. Eventually, though, Jones’s very brain changed. It altered its form in order to immunise itself against all forms of mental manipulation.’

‘All forms?’ Tony asked.

‘ _All_. We actually tested it, with her consent of course, with numerous telepaths.’ Lennie leaned over and picked up a laptop. She flicked it open and brought it around to Tony. ‘Here’s a scan of it compared to the regular human brain.’

Tony opened the laptop and looked. She already had the file open so he could see very clearly that Jones’s brain structure was _very different_ from the norm. Tony’s eyes narrowed. Barton had seemed to think he was immune to Wanda’s powers, yet this woman – who was actually proven to be immune – had taken years to get her immunity. Perhaps Barton wasn’t as immune as he imagined himself. Come to think of it...Barton’s affection for the Maximoff twins did seem to come out of nowhere.

Well, Tony couldn’t prove anything – yet.

‘So she’d naturally take offence to what Wanda does?’

‘Very much so.’ Lennie shrugged. ‘Well, Jones saw the evacuation in Sokovia as sort of a grey area. She may have been removing them from a danger zone, but she was still taking away their agency to do it.’

And that was just it: agency. Tony’s instincts insisted that he needed to pull Cap’s side in but there was something in his professionalism that had been nagging him for a while now. It was only now, with Lennie talking about things like consent, that it occurred to him what it was. Ross, by all rights, should never have allowed _Tony_ to do it. He was emotionally attached and so had a conflict of interest. Tony would never allow such a thing in his own company, never mind allowing himself to fall into the trap.

‘I obviously need a new team to pull Cap’s side in,’ Tony mused. ‘Would she help?’

Lennie paused and her eyes glazed over for a minute. She must’ve been sifting through the future. Her eyes then cleared and she leaned up. ‘Yes, but you’d have to make Wanda the sacrificial lamb, so to speak. You’ve have to use her to bring to the public’s attention that mental manipulation is used to commit crimes. On that condition, Jess would agree to help you.’

Tony nodded and tapped the edge of the mug. ‘We’d have to be careful. I don’t want people turning on telepaths altogether. I’m sure there are some that are perfectly decent people.’

Lennie smiled. ‘You get Jess, you get the other Defenders too.’

‘And who are they?’

‘Luke Cage, for starters,’ Lennie said. ‘He’s an ex-con too, but his was more a matter of losing his temper and lashing out a bad time. While he was in prison, he was illegally experimented on and ended up with impenetrable skin. The next one is Iron Fist. He’s cultivated an ancient eastern art of martial arts that harnesses a form of power that makes him deliver punches that would make Cap look like he has a glass jaw.’ She smirked. ‘You’ll probably recognise him when you see him.’ She paused. ‘Then there’s Daredevil.’

‘Daredevil?’

‘The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. Call him what you will. He was blinded in an accident when he was a child. He just trained his other senses to compensate to super-human levels. To this day, he’s practically a human lie-detector. He could hear a kitten sneeze from across the Hudson River.’ She paused. ‘Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration.’

Tony chuckled. ‘Your point is clear.’ He inclined his head. ‘Any others?’

‘Oh, far too many to count. New York is one of the most populous cities for super-heroes in the world. I don’t know all of them, but I do know a good chunk of them.’

‘Enough to pull them in?’

‘Fortune favours the strong, Mr. Stark,’ Lennie said. ‘And God knows you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever laid eyes on.’

‘Me?’ Tony chuckled.

‘Yes,’ Lennie said. ‘I don’t know if you noticed but it’s not a common occurrence for people to get out of being held prisoner by insurgent groups without either rescue or ransom. You did that. Then, you stood up and took responsibility for your weapons ending up in their hands. You then took responsibility for the Avengers – who have all the tact and finesse of a charging rhino. Right now, we might as well start calling you Atlas.’

Tony pressed his lips together. She had a point. People had actually been in awe over the fact that he’d escaped a terrorist encampment on his own. He’d been given up for dead when they found him, by all except for his friends. And he had kinda been feeling more and more the weight of the world on his shoulders. And he was the only one concerned with a second alien invasion coming so...

‘What did you see through that portal?’ Lennie suddenly asked.

Tony looked up at her. ‘Are you a mind-reader too?’ He hadn’t had any intentions to talk about it. Look where that got him so far.

‘No, I’ve just always been curious about what was on the other side.’

Tony hesitated, just for a moment. On one point, he’d never been believed before. On the other: she was a seer. If there was an invasion coming – and there probably was – she’d be able to look and see it. So, he told her. When he was done, her eyes glazed over again and she sighed. She rubbed the bridge of her nose.

‘Don’t weep for the stupid.’ This time she quoted an online abridged series. ‘You’ll be crying all day.’

‘So is there another one coming?’ Tony asked.

‘Yes, but Thor was wrong.’

‘About what?’

‘He told you that S.H.I.E.L.D. building advanced weapons was advertising we were ready for a higher form of war and that’s why the Battle of New York happened. On the contrary, it was advertising the fact that Earth had an Infinity Stone. That’s what brought the invasion to our doorstep.’

‘What’s an Infinity Stone?’

‘Beats the hell outta me.’ Lennie stood up. ‘Now, I’ve gotta make a few phone calls and get an early flight to Germany. Where do you want the Defenders to meet you?’

***

 **Hell’s Kitchen**  
The office phone at Nelson and Murdock: Partners at Law rang.

‘Mr. Murdock, there’s a Mrs. Alice on the phone for you.’

A few minutes later, Matt hung up. ‘Karen, Foggy,’ he said, ‘hold down the fort. I’ve gotta go pull in some international fugitives.’

In another building as Matt walked out, another phone rang. Jessica Jones picked it up. This phone conversation was a little longer. Finally, Jones nodded and hung up. She grabbed her jacket and flicked her cell phone open. Hitting speed-dial, she was quickly answered. ‘Luke, Lennie’s got a little job for us. She’s gonna take care of calling Matt and Danny.’

As they were having that conversation, the phone at Rand Enterprises rang.

A few minutes later, Danny Rand’s secretary knocked on his door and said. ‘Mr. Rand, there’s a Mrs. Alice on Line 4 for you.’

***

 **Leipzig, Germany**  
Lennie had gotten an early flight to Germany, so she beat everyone there.

She’d made the situation clear to Tony. The current roster of Avengers was not fit to bring in the rogue members, because they all had emotional attachments or emotional interests in them. They needed to avoid the conflict of interest which had overtaken Cap. Thaddeus Ross had protested other enhanced getting involved.

_Because God forbid other enhanced earn favour with anyone._

But Everett Ross had gone over his head to the UN. The board of representatives had unanimously agreed that Tony, Rhodey, Vision, Natasha, and T’Challa were all too emotionally invested to get involved in the matter. While Jess’s...strong dislike of mental manipulation, and those who used it, was met with some debate on her emotional detachment it was decided that her immunity to mental manipulation was too valuable to pass over.

T’Challa had attempted to follow them, but Daredevil had detected him and Iron Fist had punched his lights out.

Then they got on the Quinjet, with Tony piloting them.

Jess had regaled her with that tale over the phone as she was walking towards the area where she’d seen Logan in her scan for him. She had promised a real super-soldier, and a real super-soldier Tony would have. Logan, in the vision, had been leaning on a counter ordering food at a small diner. He must’ve had a bit more cash than usual.

It was the simple process of elimination – with a few fewer steps – that brought Lennie to this diner in particular.

When she stepped in, she paused and looked over. _That_ was something her vision had not shown her. Logan was not alone at the table. Across from him, digging into the food on the plate in front of her, was a little Latino pre-teen girl. She dug into the corn and peas on her fork as if she’d never tasted anything but bland goulash before.

(Lennie would later discover how accurate that off-hand thought was.)

Logan sat back, nursing a cup of coffee. It wasn’t his drink of choice, but it was clear that he was trying not to draw too much attention. And a kid eating like that would normally just be taken as a hungry kid that’d maybe been running around all day and was now famished. If her father – because that’s what Logan would be taken as – was seen sitting there with a beer...well, the human mind was very good at inventing dramatic stories with the slightest provocation.

But this just meant Lennie had to alter her plans somewhat.


	3. A Small Complication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a small one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for lack of response in this time.
> 
> I've just moved house and I'm waiting for them to come and connect the internet, so my internet usage is limited at present.

**Leipzig-Halle Airport**  
Lennie had said “fortune favours the strong” to Tony. Alterations on that were “fortune favours the bold” or “fortune favours the brave”. Rhodey knew Tony didn’t agree with the statement, but he did. Regardless of what anyone else said, Tony was stronger than anyone else on those Avengers – mostly because he had no powers and no formalised training in combat situations but he still pushed through; he didn’t complain and he just got on with it.

Yes, Tony was the strong one.

Upon Tony telling Vision why none of the signees would be getting involved in the fight, the synthetic human had looked up “conflict of interest” and had seen it as logical. So he sat in Stark Tower and waited. Romanoff had looked like she was smelling something nasty and insisted that they were the only ones who could do it. Her jaw had clenched when Tony had pointed out that she was dehumanised from childhood so she was hardly a reliable judge. Rhodey was expecting her to try something.

The only reason Tony and Rhodey were here, neither in their suits, was to make it clear to Cap that he had to turn himself in. If Lennie was to be believed, he wouldn’t because he was spoiling for a fight. Looking at his past behaviour, Rhodey was inclined to agree. Rogers seemed to be an advocate of punching people until they didn’t move anymore. Hell, he’d _walked out of_ the Accords discussion! It was like he didn’t know what talking was.

Tony’s phone suddenly beeped. He flicked it out and frowned as he read it.

‘Lennie?’ Jones asked.

‘Yeah,’ Tony said. ‘She says “slight complication”.’

‘What does that mean?’ Rhodey asked.

‘I guess we’ll find out.’ About ten minutes after he said that, a twin-cab pick-up truck pulled into the deserted airport. Rhodey watched as Lennie got out of the passenger seat and a stocky man got out of the driver’s seat. There was something...intimidating about him, but he definitely looked like a soldier – just out of uniform.

Then they saw the “slight complication”. The back door of the truck opened and a kid got out. She was likely 11 or 12 years old. She looked around with wide curious eyes until the guy Lennie had gone after came over to her and took her hand. More likely than not, he was her father. Lennie led them over to them.

‘She calls that a _slight_ complication?’ Rhodey demanded.

‘No, no,’ Tony said. ‘It’s no big deal. She can sit in the Quinjet through this whole thing. FRIDAY can put it into a kid-friendly mode, can’t you, FRI?’

‘You mean lock the controls so they don’t work while she’s alone in there and put on a movie for her?’ FRIDAY asked.

‘That’s good,’ Tony said.

***

Jess decided she liked this Logan guy.

First of all, he’d picked up the location of the “pack of assholes”, as Jess had taken to calling them. Well, anyone who thought they could go where they want, do what they want, and then bitched when they didn’t get their way were assholes in Jess’s opinion. Then Logan had eavesdropped on them. So they knew the intention was to steal the Quinjet.

Lennie and Logan had both said not to worry about it.

Tony hadn’t been too concerned either. As he said, with the Quinjet in kid-friendly mode it wasn’t going anywhere. His main concern was Logan’s kid, Laura. As soon as Lennie said if Rogers did get onto the Quinjet, though, Laura, despite being a child, was far stronger and faster than he was and had none of her father’s self-control. If Rogers or Barnes tried anything, they’d be in more danger than the pre-teen.

Tony had gotten this funny look on his face.

‘Well,’ Rhodey had said, ‘maybe it’ll do him some good to get his butt kicked by a real kid, with how much he spouts off that Maximoff is one.

‘What a minute!’ Jess had been outraged. ‘You mean to tell me that he defends that mind-raping bitch by comparing her to a child?!’

‘And then, apparently, not even having the gumption to treat her like an actual one.’ Lennie tossed in for good measure.

‘Really?’ Tony asked.

‘Kids,’ Lennie had laid a hand on Laura’s head, ‘need to be given boundaries and limitations so that they learn to be good people. Brushing their mistakes and bad behaviours off as “they made a mistake” does nothing but teach them they can do what they like. But she’s an adult. She knows what she did is wrong. In other words, Rogers had turned himself into a convenient human shield for her from the consequences of her actions.’

‘Well, that ends now,’ Jess stated.

‘To be fair,’ Lennie said, ‘he doesn’t comprehend precisely what it is she does.’ She turned her head nonchalantly to show her disdain for such ignorance. ‘Not that that excuses allowing her to twist peoples’ minds, of course.’

‘Well,’ Matt said with a smirk, ‘if all else fails, we can challenge him on whether he feels the use of child soldiers is acceptable.’

Logan and Luke both snorted in amusement.

Logan suddenly looked up. ‘Well, Bird-boy’s taken off and he’s started looking for the jet.’

Jess looked over at Lennie. ‘Should I bring him down?’

‘Only after he reports the location of the Quinjet,’ Lennie said. ‘They won’t be able to see you from where they are.’ Almost instantly, Tony flicked out a pair of glasses.

Jess was impressed to see data start flashing across them.

Lennie went on. ‘Whether the Falcon returns or not won’t affect Rogers’ plan. He’s got the plan and he’ll keep it up no matter what curveballs we throw at him. As Tony and Rhodey can tell you, he’s really bad at adapting.’

‘So bad!’ Rhodey agreed.

Tony nodded. ‘I had to do all the adapting.’

Lennie nodded her head and waved her hand in a “there you go” gesture. ‘However, they’re not coming out of hiding until they know where the Quinjet is.’

‘What about Romanoff?’ Danny asked.

It was almost laughable how Romanoff honestly believed that they didn’t know she’d followed them. Well...perhaps “followed” was the wrong word. She’d actually called up Barton to find out where the show-down was happening and then made her own way there, but she was spying on them.

Lennie lifted a finger. Her eyes glazed over as she sought through the future. ‘I haven’t had a lot of contact with Romanoff, so I can only estimate based on what I’ve seen and heard. What I do know for sure is that she thinks it’s just Tony and Rhodey. She will be surprised to see the rest of us here. While she’s working with Rogers’ batch now, the minute things go pear-shaped for them she’ll try to defect back to us.’

‘So she zigzags allegiances depending on who she thinks is gonna come out on top,’ Luke surmised.

‘I said she was dehumanised,’ Lennie said. ‘The only loyalty that woman has to is herself.’

She checked her watch, and then she and Tony exchanged a glance.

***

Sam spotted the Quinjet.

He quickly reported its location to Steve. As he swooped around to turn and head back on Steve’s orders, he considered the situation. Five Winter Soldiers and Stark being an arse about what needed to be done. The Accords were nothing but a leash and Stark was just going to let them be tied down by it.

Sam was so wrapped up in his annoyances with Stark that the feedback in his earpiece took him entirely by surprise. Sam flinched and then, ‘What was that?’

He wasn’t answered through the earpiece though. ‘That was the sound of the earpiece being cut off from the others.’

Sam swivelled his head. He was shocked to see a chick seeming to levitate just to his left. She was all dressed in black and had dark hair and eyes. Sam opened his mouth to demand who she was. But she moved fast. She came at him and he didn’t even have time to register much beyond the fact that she was capable of self-sustained flight before he felt the wings ripped from his back and his body being yanked down.

He hit the ground and rolled. As he was struggling to recover himself, someone kicked him over and planted a knee on his chest. Sam opened his eyes and looked up to see a broad-shouldered white guy with a cigar clenched between his teeth.

Stark and Rhodes were standing there too, along with a whole bunch of people Sam didn’t know. There was no Nat and no Vision like Steve was expecting. Instead, just Stark, Rhodes, and these strangers. And one of them could suspend herself in the air, with no gear to speak of. And Sam couldn’t even warn Steve.

‘Thanks for drawing them out of hiding, Wilson,’ Stark said.

Sam ignored the goad. ‘Where are Nat and Vision?’

‘Oh, they weren’t invited,’ Rhodes said. ‘Even Tones and I aren’t getting involved if Rogers pushes a fight. See, there’s this thing – maybe you’ve heard of it. It’s called “conflict of interest”.’ He gestured around at the strangers. ‘These nice people here? They’re impartial third parties. It’s the same reason the VA would’ve prevent you from having a friend or family member in one of your group sessions when you worked for them. I think Rogers could learn something here. Don’t you?’

Sam winced at that one. Well...yeah, Cap did have a conflict of interest in regards to Bucky. But... ‘Steve doesn’t want to lose his friend. They were going to kill him.’

‘Really?’ the blond man with the tattoo on his chest asked, bitterness in his tone. ‘And what about all those innocent bystanders who just happened to be in the way in Bucharest? Were they going to kill him?’

The large bald guy threw in his two cents. ‘Cap’s little pissing contest was not theirs to lose. They not only lost, but a good chunk of them lost their lives. Is that justice?’

Sam floundered. Truth was, he hadn’t even thought of those people. These ones, while Stark claimed were an impartial third party, clearly hated them. ‘Well, they shouldn’t have attacked him anyway!’

‘Attacked?’ The man in red scoffed. ‘They went into apprehend him. That is perfectly reasonable given there was a strong reason to suspect he was responsible for the Vienna bombing. That’s not even mentioning his suspected 70-plus political assassinations over the years. Yes, he was brainwashed and diminished capacity is the strongest defence he has – and it’s a good one. Are you trying to tell me that all those people, and their families, do not deserve justice?’

Sam fished around for something.

‘Wilson,’ Stark stepped forward. ‘It should be clear to you by now that Cap is compromised. So why don’t you just tell us what he’s trying to do?’

Sam pressed his lips together.

‘Logan?’ The lighter-haired woman spoke up.

The guy pinning him suddenly rested a fist under Sam’s chin. His fist was broad enough that Sam could only feel the two centre knuckles. The rest of them drew in, creating a tight circle.

_SNIKT!_

One metal blade shot out, sliding across Sam’s left cheek. It wasn’t cold metal either. No, this metal was warm as though it’d been tucked under someone’s arm. It didn’t cut him but it did make Sam jump.

_SNIKT!_

A second blade slid up across Sam’s right cheek in much the same manner as the first. This time, Sam froze. The way they’d come and the only place they could have come from was between the man’s knuckles. He looked up. There was a wide, feral grin on the man’s face. It was a look that sent fear right into Sam’s belly.

‘I got a third one,’ he said in a low voice. ‘You wanna see it or are you gonna tell us what we need to know?’

It was the feral grin that did it, Sam would later claim. The man was beyond scary and Sam had honestly thought if he didn’t talk, he’d die. Self-preservation won out. Sam spilled like hot butter. At the end, he was turned over to the German authorities while somebody called the Russian border patrol, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

Stopping the guy before he got to the base hadn’t even occurred to Sam – or Steve apparently.


	4. The Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve _was_ spoiling for a fight.

Sam was taking too long to come back.

They had no more time to waste, so Steve led the rest of them across the airfield of the airport. As he expected, Tony was standing there to meet him. What he wasn’t expecting was for Tony and Rhodey not to be wearing their suits. Rhodey was in military uniform and Tony was dressed casually. How did they expect to fight them like that?

What was more surprising was that there was no Nat or Vision. Instead, there were six unfamiliar people with Tony and Rhodey. Two women and four men stood flanking them. They were not people Steve knew. It made him sort of nervous. He didn’t like it. What the hell was Tony playing here?

Tony, ever the arsehole, turned to Rhodey. ‘Wow, it’s so weird how you run into people at the airport. Don’t you think that’s weird?’

Rhodey had the gall to play along. ‘Definitely weird.’

‘Where are Nat and Viz?’ Steve asked.

‘See, there’s this thing, Rogers,’ Tony stated. ‘It’s called “conflict of interest”. It means that if you have an emotional investment, either good or bad, in someone, then you shouldn’t deal with them in any professional capacity. So Vision and Romanoff have been instructed to stay out of this.’

Steve’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’ve been busy.’

‘And you’ve been a complete idiot!’ Tony snapped. ‘You’d think Captain America would approve of checks and balances, but apparently not.’

‘That’s not—’ Steve was cut off by the lighter-haired woman standing with Tony.

‘What the Accords are about.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Have you actually read them past that one-page summary the Secretary of State gave you? I’m betting you haven’t, because this little spat here isn’t even about the Accords. It’s about those five Winter Soldiers which you failed to report.’

Steve drew back. ‘How do you—’

She cut him off again. ‘Know.’ She smirked. ‘Well, I hate to tell you this but you’ve all just wasted your time. See, after we caught Wilson and encouraged him to spill the beans, we called the Russian border patrol. You don’t fly commercial too often so I suspect that you aren’t aware of the nightmare that is customs. They process every single person that goes through. Which means our little fake-doctor will get off that plane in Moscow and, on the way to pick up his luggage, get tapped on the shoulder by border patrol and detained in the airport until the Russian authorities arrive to pick him up.’ She smirked. ‘Will you look at that? Problem solved without needing to throw a single punch.’

Steve shook his head. She didn’t get it. ‘This guy is slippery as a snake. They won’t be able to keep him.’

She exchanged a look with the stocky cigar-smoking guy, filled with amusement. Then she looked at Steve. ‘Okay, let’s say, for argument’s sake, he escapes the Russian authorities and gets to the base in time to activate the Winter Soldiers. You got your butt whooped by one, as I recall, because you refused to fight him.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘And this guy knows the trigger words, doesn’t he? That’s how he got the location of the five Winter Soldiers in the first place. Am I not correct?’

Steve hesitated, but Bucky didn’t.

‘Yeah,’ he said, just loud enough for her to hear.

She nodded. ‘So what’s to stop him from triggering Barnes again? You go in there, and it won’t be five of you on five Winter Soldiers. It’ll be four of you on six Winter Soldiers.’ She looked Steve right in the eye. ‘I guess that means you’d go against Barnes, and get the tar whaled out of you again, but what about the other five on your three teammates?’

Wanda huffed. ‘I can handle it.’

‘Can you?’ The other woman asked with a smirk.

The first woman raised her eyebrows. ‘I’m seeing you freaking out when it finally sinks in that these people are killing machines dressed as human husks. It would then take less than a second for one of them to kill you.’

Wanda looked like she’d slapped her.

‘Leave her alone!’ Steve snapped. ‘She’s just a kid.’

‘No, she’s not.’ The woman spoke with such calm surity that Steve drew back. She then looked at Clint. ‘What about you, Barton? You’re a long-range fighter aren’t you? Isn’t a HYDRA base an enclosed space? What are you going to do against five super-soldiers?’

Clint looked worried.

‘I won’t ask Mr. Change-Size.’ The woman waved her hand. ‘And, yes, I know he’s there. I won’t ask him, though, but it certainly is something to think of. What’s he gonna do? Shrink and run away? That’s literally the only way he’d get out alive.’

Steve had enough. He flung the shield, with Scott on top. The big-mouthed woman ducked, along with Tony and Rhodey. The stocky guy caught the shield in his hand. Almost instantly, the guy in red snapped his baton over the top of the shield. Scott returned to normal size as he went flying. He tumbled and came to rest on the tarmac.

Steve led the charge.

***

Natasha was crouched out of sight.

She hadn’t been expecting Tony to produce a whole team of enhanced, but here they were. The lighter-haired woman – what was her name again? – didn’t seem to be a combatant. She stood back with Tony and Rhodey. God knew why they were taking this conflict of interest thing seriously.

When Steve charged, Wanda used her power to propel herself upwards. Unfortunately for her, she needed to use both her hands for this. The other woman – the black-haired one – not only appreared to be capable of self-sustained flight, but she charged right at Wanda and punched her out of the sky. She then landed right next to her. Wanda shot her hands, the red shooting out and wafting at the woman’s head.

Natasha expected the woman to be paralysed.

She wasn’t.

Instead, she grabbed Wanda’s hands, spun the girl around, and twisted them painfully behind her back.Wanda cried out in pain. The woman transferred the grip of Wanda’s wrists into one hand and pushed her head down to the contrete. Wanda screeched and kicked around uselessly. From the look on the woman’s face, she’d like to do a hell of a lot more _to_ Wanda, but she just held her down.

Scott’s helmet had already been yanked off and he’d been knocked unconscious by the man in red. It took Natasha a moment to recognise the masked man. He was Daredevil, or the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. Fury had once looked at him, and then decided there was nothing particularly special or worthwhile about him. Looked like he’d been wrong.

Clint was faced off against the large man of African descent. Rightfully, Clint’s arrows should have had the guy on the ground. Instead, they were boucing off the approaching man. It was as if his skin itself was impenetrable. He just kept approaching and Clint was soon backed into a corner. He was knocked out by one punch from this guy.

Already, the German authorities were moving into the area to remove the two unconscious men. Wanda would be harder to remove. She’d lash out the moment her arms were released, so that would take longer. Natasha was most concerned, though, by the two guys going at Cap and Barnes. One of them was the guy who’d knocked out T’Challa. Sure enough, the punch he landed on Barnes sent to former Winter Soldier flying across the tarmac.

‘Bucky!’ Steve yelled, getting distracted and allowing the other guy to land a good punch into his face.

Natasha wasn’t surprised when Iron Fist – that’s what they’d called him – walked across and Bucky said something. Iron Fist responded and Bucky remained on his knees. Rogers continued his fight with the stocky guy, though. It was clear, though, that the stocky guy was just playing with Rogers. He was putting hardly any effort into this fight. He was stronger than Steve, and he knew it.

If this guy fought seriously, Rogers was toast.

Natasha hated to say it, but Tony had outdone himself. He had found a group of people who could outdo the Avengers and he’d gotten them to fight for him. And that was just in a few short hours. What kind of people could he find given even more time. Sure, no one could match her but what if he found someone who could render even her skills obsolete? Like...like a telepath or a seer or something?

It didn’t bear thinking.

Steve managed to get a lucky shot in and kicked the stocky guy away from him. Then he rolled over and bolted. Steve then shot across and grabbed Bucky, dragging him after him to the Quinjet. Iron Fist and the other guy gave the chase. But they didn’t seem serious. In fact, they seemed to be _jogging_ after the two super-soldiers.

Natasha somehow knew that Quinjet wouldn’t be going anywhere.

A voice suddenly came from behind her. ‘I bet you thought we didn’t know you were here.’

Natasha spun around and found herself face-to-face with the woman that had pulled Tony and Rhodey back.

***

Steve hauled Bucky up into the Quinjet.

They had to get out of here! Steve didn’t know who those people were but they were trouble! Tony should never have brought them in. Bucky seemed in shock and didn’t say anything. Steve slammed the overhead hatch down, launching them into semi-darkness, and reached for the controls. He hit the switch to take them into the air. Nothing happened. He tried again. And, again, nothing happened.

Suddenly, he was hit by something. He didn’t see it. All he knew was that it was small, it snarled, and it was powerful enough to knock him over. Something sliced into him. Steve cried out. It sliced into him again, Steve lashed out. His arm was caught and stabbed with something. The hatch overhead opened and light was thrown in. Steve was shocked to see what he did.

There was a small girl with a feral counterance – and she was holding him down.

‘Laura,’ the stocky guy hopped down through the hatch. He walked over and crouched down just by Steve’s head. ‘What did we say about the claws?’ As he asked this, he lifted a fist. Three long metal claws extended out from between his knuckles. _He could have done that **the whole time**?_ Steve looked up to see a similar set of claws coming out of her fists, except two instead of three. They were dripping with his blood.

‘But daaaaad!’ she whined.

‘Yes, I know,’ the stocky guy told his daughter. ‘But we only stab when we have to. You understand?’

The girl – Laura – pouted and retracted her claws. Her father did the same.

‘Good girl.’ The stocky guy then grabbed a fistful of Steve’s hair.


	5. A World of Enhanced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world is full of enhanced, and it's high time to learn it.

‘To be fair,’ Matt remarked. ‘Lennie associates with just about every super-hero and anti-hero in New York, and helps fight all their super-villains. It’s not overly surprising that she has a pair of handcuffs designed for super-strength.’ He ignored the glare Rogers threw at him.

Of course, he couldn’t talk anymore. Lennie had gotten sick of his endless, repetitive justifications, and duct-taped his mouth shut. She’d then disappeared off somewhere while they waited for the German authorities to get appropriate means to transport the Rogue Avengers to their cells. Barton, Lang, Wilson, and Romanoff were already gone.

It had been quite amusing. Lennie had dragged Romanoff back down, the Russian spy’s arms tied behind her back in an extremely uncomfortable way and her ankles tied together only just enough to allow her to walk. The Russian had sported quite a few bruises from where Lennie had landed her hits.

_‘She was cute,’ Lennie had said, pushing her at the others. ‘She tried to convince me she hadn’t been collaborating with them.’_

_Tony had cocked an eyebrow. ‘Then how did you come to be here in time?’_

_‘I followed you.’ Romanoff obviously had no concept of the fact that the only logical way she could have come to be here now was if she had done exactly what she was denying. And she thought she was the top spy in the world? Geez, talk about a narcissist! ‘You’re not that hard to track, Tony, despite what you and your ego like to think.’_

_Luke had chuckled. ‘I don’t think Stark’s ego is the problem.’_

_Tony had then smirked and played a recording of Romanoff and Barton’s conversation._

_Lennie had gestured for an officer to come and lead her away._

_‘You need us!’ Romanoff insisted as she was dragged off._

_‘Like a hole in the head,’ Lennie muttered._

Now Lennie came back, carrying an ice cream. She handed it to Laura. ‘Know what this is for?’

‘Cause I stopped the bad guys but I didn’t kill them?’ Laura asked.

Steve tried to protest through the duct tape.

Lennie nodded. ‘Exactly, and you only attacked when they came into your space.’ She smiled at her. ‘Ever had an ice cream before?’

Laura nodded. ‘Daddy gave me some a few times.’

Lennie smiled.

‘Why did you ask that?’ Danny asked.

‘Oh, well...’

***

 **8 Months Later**  
‘...And this,’ Matt Murdock finished his presentation of the evidence, ‘is the sort of thing that military commanders do when they gain access to the enhanced.’

On the other side of the courtroom, Thaddeus Ross ground his teeth. His whole case was falling apart as the witnesses to the trial craned their necks to see the child, half hidden by her father’s bulk. Ross was trying to get militaristic command of the enhanced under the Accords. Murdock not only had presented the evidence of Laura’s early life before her father found her, but also of what happened after Logan had found her – the fact that she’d never seen the outside world before, she’d never tasted either sweet or sour or spice before. She’d never seen the ocean or city lights before.

The way she’d described such things alone had made that clear.

Logan was still teaching her the difference between right and wrong.

There were enough similarities between the men responsible for this and Thaddeus Ross – and their respective military careers for the decision to already be made. The testimonies and cross-examinations were now just a formality. They weren’t important because it was clear the judge had already made up his mind as he had viewed the evidence in outrage along with the rest of the courtroom and looked at the child, curled up close to her father and refusing to even speak on the stand unless her father was close to her, and he had made the decision.

And that was just one of the examples Matt had used. It was nothing of the records of Captain Carol Danvers and various other enhanced whom military officers had decided to “take charge of”, which in many cases had ended in disaster. In the case of Captain Danvers, she had felt the need to actually leave the _planet_.

At the end, the judge spoke out his clear verdict. ‘It is clear to me from the evidence presented by the defence that when the military takes command of any issues pertaining to the enhanced, these people consistently end up in the hands of the wrong sort of soldiers. Our duty is to the people, regardless of what they can or cannot do.’ His eyes narrowed.  
‘General Ross, the actions of men like Col. William Stryker and Dr. Xander Rice are frankly detestable. The fact that they got away with these actions until this day brings me suspicion on how involved in the creation of beings such as the Hulk and the Abomination you really were.’

Ross’s face drained of blood. Matt didn’t need to be able to see him to know that.

The judge went on. ‘On the other hand, Stark Industries and their affiliated bodies have shown willingness to support, a lack of bias towards, and consideration for the rights of these enhanced individuals, from Captain America to the Hulk.’ He paused. ‘Or, perhaps it would be better to say from War Machine to the Hulk. As such, the United States Military is hereby denied any jurisdiction over the enhanced community.’

He brought his gavel down with finality.

A precedent was set.

***

Hope sat in the back of the courtroom, watching the first of the trials of the Rogue Avengers.

Hank had been pissed off at how Scott had been caught by the team Stark had organised. He’d ranted about how now Stark would steal the Pym Particles and how he had to stop it. Then, of all things, Iron Man had arrived on their balcony, thrown the Ant-Man suit to Hank with a “this is yours, goodbye” and left.

Everything had been there. Hank was still determined Stark would try to market it; he must’ve stolen something. But that never happened. The longer it went with Stark doing nothing, the more paranoid Hank got. Eventually Hope realised the truth: Tony Stark was not the man Hank had determined him to be.

And if he was wrong about the son, maybe he’d been wrong about the father too. With that theory in mind, Hope had sat down and done her homework. The dumped S.H.I.E.L.D. files were very much there. That included the data on the Pym Particles which Hank had developed while he and her mother had been there – and absolute proof that Howard Stark had nothing to do with the transgression.

It was evidence Hank didn’t like her pointing out to him, but the words of Mitchell Carson were typed out clearly: _Carter thinks Stark’s one step away from a crook anyway (nothing could be further from the truth), and she makes no secret of it. It wasn’t too difficult to point the blame at him. He’s been ignored protesting his innocence so much that he doesn’t even bother anymore._

But at least, a few weeks later, Hank stopped ranting about how Starks were the devil incarnate.

Hope was now considering approaching Tony.

The Avengers numbers were down, and he’d need help building them back up.

***

‘Jesus Christ!’ Logan half-laughed as Stark’s people brought in more stacks of gifts for Laura.

Lennie looked over her shoulder and Laura, Jess, and Danny looked up from the Monopoly game they were playing. Laura’s eyes lit up at the sight of the new things. Then she frowned. ‘How come people keep sending me things?’

‘Oh, it’ll taper off after a little while,’ Tony assured her. ‘You’re just the big story at the moment. Little girl created to be a weapon, never experienced life like every other kid, amazed even by the sight of an open sky. Tugs at the heartstrings. So people are sending you any of the experiences they can think of: food, toys, games, odds and ends, you name it.’

‘Oh, that reminds me, Logan,’ Lennie said. ‘I got a call from the Professor after Laura’s portion hit the press.’

‘Who the hell’s the Professor?’ Logan asked.

‘Professor Charles Xavier,’ Jess said. ‘He’s like the Martin Luther King of mutants. He runs a school for mutant kids in Westchester.’

‘Also runs the X-Men.’ Lennie leaned back against the coffee table. ‘He was calling to invite you two to the school.’

Logan cocked an eyebrow.

'Moving on.' Tony stood up. ‘Lennie?’

‘Oh, right.’ Lennie looked down at the board game. ‘I’m just about out anyway.’ She stood up.

‘Where are you off to?’ Luke asked.

‘Queens,’ Lennie said. ‘Tony wants to initiate contact with the wall-crawler on account of the fact that he’s scarcely 15.’

The Defenders all turned and looked at her with incredulous faces. Logan’s eyebrows lifted.

Lennie nodded. ‘Really. He got bitten by a radioactive spider on a class field trip and then developed an overblown sense of responsibility.’

‘Oy.’ Matt rubbed the bridge of his nose. ‘Do you know any supers in Queens who can keep an eye on him?’

‘Nope. I’ve been doing it.’ She paused. ‘And trying to talk the kid into working in conjunction with law enforcement. It’s not working. I’m hoping Tony will have a bit more sway.’

‘I don’t know why you think I will,’ Tony remarked.

‘Because the kid’s a science geek and he looks up to you.’

Tony was silent for a moment. ‘But, hey, no pressure.’

***

Lennie walked down into the cell block. Soon, all of these morons would be sent back to their respective prison sentences. Maximoff, with her powers bound would be sent back to Sokovia and Romanoff back to Russia. Neither would be having for a nice time. In fact, the others would be in perfect luxury compared to what treatment they would get.

‘What do you want?’ Clint snapped.

And promptly made himself her first target. Lennie strolled over to his cell. ‘What are you so upset about? You break the law, you go to prison. It’s how it works. But, I suppose, you’re so used to committing murder and getting away with it because you were a government-employed sniper, that you’re not reacting well to not having your ass covered.’

Clint glared at her.

‘After your prison sentence, it’s possible your wife will take you back,’ Lennie said. ‘But your kids?’ She shook her head. ‘Unlikely.’

Clint lurched at her. ‘What did you say?’ he hissed.

‘Just stating a fact,’ Lennie said. ‘Your wife married you because she loved you. But your kids...Well, you know the old adage: you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family. As they grow older they’ll grow bitter and resentful. Dad was supposed to be retired and he left the moment Cap whistled. Did you know that Tony once worshipped the ground Howard walked on? But Howard was hardly there so, as he grew, he got bitter and resentful of this fact. And Howard never outright abandoned his family as you did. And why did you leave them? Yes, Cap whistled, but you were retired.’ Her eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment. ‘Oh, I see. You were bored.’

Clint drew back like he’d been slapped.

‘Does this mean if Tony had called you you’d have come running just to get into the fight?’

‘Tony...’

‘Is your scapegoat for everything.’ Lennie waved a hand at him dismissively. ‘I know. Just as his father before him was the favoured scapegoat in S.H.I.E.L.D.’ She glanced over at Scott. ‘Howard never tried to steal the Pym Particles, FYI. That was HYDRA. They just pointed the finger at Howard.’ She stepped back from Clint’s cell. ‘And, just think, Howard continued associating with these people because he thought they were doing something good for the world, despite how they treated him and tore him away from his actual responsibilities – for example, Tony – which, if you think about it, is the exact same reason Tony put up with you losers. He thought you were necessary. But he knows better _now_.’

‘Tony still needs us,’ Romanoff stated with certainty.

‘What the hell would he need a couple of contract killers for?’ Lennie asked her, amused. ‘I mean you couldn’t even hack anything properly without his help, despite what your little egocentric worldview would tell you. Super-strength? He’s got the Wolverine, Colossus, the Hulk, Iron Fist, Cage, and Jones. A sure-shot? Ha! Daredevil could plug an ace of hearts at fifty feet, if you’ll pardon the expression. That’s not even mentioning Cyclops. Magic-user? I just introduced him to the Sorcerer Supreme, who has an entire disciplined order of magic users behind him. Oh, and their magic is natural with a code of conduct attached to it.’ She waved a hand dismissively at Wanda. ‘None of this disgusting mind raping business.’

‘What are talking about?’ Rogers demanded. ‘How could Wanda rape anyone?’

‘Get your mind out of the gutter,’ Lennie told him. ‘Rape isn’t about sex. It’s about power. She goes into peoples’ minds, robs them of their agency, and twists things in there.’

‘She’s just a kid!’ Rogers insisted. He went to say something else, but Lennie cut him off.

‘A kid?’ she demanded. ‘No, the girl that stabbed you was a kid. She’s only 11 years old, she still has to be taught the difference between right and wrong, and she’s got the entire world aww-ing over her.’ She pointed at Wanda. ‘This _woman_ is 26 years old and happens to have a pretty face. She knows the difference between right and wrong. She just doesn’t care if it doesn’t benefit her in some way. And the world is terrified of her. This woman joined HYDRA to get revenge against a man who was only very remotely connected to her parents’ deaths.’

‘Liar!’ Wanda hissed. ‘Tony Stark killed my parents!’

‘Your parents died in a civil war, girlie,’ Lennie said without the slightest hint of sympathy. ‘You’re hardly unique. It’s no reason to go terrorist. Your little sob story may work on Rogers, here, but the rest of the world has not been fooled. And, before any of you sprout about it not being fair, life isn’t. Every single member of the Stark family is well aware of that, and yet you never heard them bitching.’

She turned on Rogers.

‘Which brings me to the next point.’ She walked over to Rogers’ cell. ‘You really are a walking disaster, aren’t you? Tell me, did you honestly think you could keep it secret forever? Did you honestly think no one would ever find out the truth about how the Starks really died?’

Rogers drew back. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘There was no threat from the Winter Soldiers, it appears,’ Lennie said. ‘Helmut Zemo was setting an elaborate trap to draw in you, Barnes, and Tony to show you three a videotape of the Winter Soldier murdering Howard and Maria Stark.’

Rogers rushed at the bars. ‘It wasn’t Bucky!’

Lennie ignored him. ‘Of course, when you three failed to show up, he just uploaded said video online. The biggest problem then was determining if it was genuine.’ She smirked at him. ‘Well, not really, because it turns out that Barnes remembered doing it upon watching the video. He confessed. Didn’t even have to exhume the bodies.’

Rogers began yanking at bars that wouldn’t bend to him. ‘What did you do to Bucky? I won’t let you hurt him!’

‘Oh, nothing.’ Lennie examined her nails. ‘Jennifer Walters has already won his case by arguing diminished capacity.’ She glared at him. ‘This is not the Dark Ages, Rogers. We do not sentence people to death at the drop of a hat. And this is not 1945. Intent matters in law. Barnes did not choose to kill these people, he was brainwashed and we do account for these things. There is a lot of public sympathy for him. You, on the other hand, are being condemned.’

‘I was protecting him!’ Rogers insisted.

‘No, you dragged him into fight after fight when the poor guy barely knew up from down. They’re saying you took advantage of a disabled man. And they’re actually speculating that you knew about the Starks murders beforehand. I’m here to ask.’

‘Why would you think that?’ Wilson asked, voice sounding incredibly small.

‘Let’s see.’ Lennie pretended to mull it over. ‘2014, info-dump. That was an unmitigated disaster. Not only did you expose HYDRA, but you also exposed countless true S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and their families. Hundreds of civilians – men, women, and children – died in the weeks and months that followed. Why didn’t you call Tony Stark for help in that? Then, all those missions you went overseas – no doubt looking for Barnes – but you never included Tony, Rhodey or Vision. Why not? Then you welcome a former HYDRA operative into the Avengers. It’s a popular theory now that Rogers here didn’t care whether she was sorry or not. He just wanted to set a precedent for Barnes.’ She glared at Rogers. ‘Why wouldn’t everyone think that you’d actively obstructed the course of justice?’

‘It wasn’t Bucky’s fault,’ Rogers repeated, his voice softer.

‘Does that invalidate the lives that were taken?’ Lennie asked. ‘Of course not. Barnes still killed those people, brainwashed or not, and you insisting he’s innocent of these crimes is a blatant disrespect to those people. You have let down everyone who ever believed in the legend of Captain America.’

That said, Lennie turned and walked out again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight disclaimer: I didn't actually do any research of the history of the law (because I'm lazy) but I think it's sound.


End file.
